Two May Stand
by Jinny-Gurl
Summary: Young Ned does not realize the consequence of keeping a dead thing alive for more than a minute right away, and his life is changed forever. Years later, Ned and Chuck find each other again, but will they be able to recapture what once was? Alternate SL.


Disclaimer: I don't own Pushing Daisies or anything associated with it aside from the DVDs that I bought. I make no money from this writing, it is purely for my own fantasy fulfillment.

Summary: Young Ned does not realize the consequence of keeping a dead thing alive for more than a minute right away, and his life is changed forever. Years later, Ned and the girl he called Chuck find each other again, but will they be able to recapture what once was? Alternate storyline starting from the beginning.

Warnings: If you don't like the idea of Ned and Chuck touching, or changing her deadness status, don't read this story. So far, the story is at a nice clean PG type of rating, but it will most likely get pretty sexy later on. The rating will change accordingly at that point. THIS IS NOT FLUFF, there will be angst. You have been warned.

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Two May Stand

Prologue

Young Ned was 9 years 27 weeks 7 days 2 hours and 24 minutes old, and about to become an orphan. He had recently discovered his gift for touching dead things back to life, and had used this gift to resurrect his mother exactly one minute ago. Unfortunately, this meant that the father of the girl he called Chuck had to die.

Young Chuck did not witness the death of her father. In fact, only Young Ned and his mother saw the man fall, and Ned's mother may have simply believed the man had slipped, much as she believed she had done one minute earlier. The first stage of the process of accepting death is denial, so Young Ned had some time in which to work.

With his mother watching in shock, Young Ned took off running out of the house and across the street. He knelt down on the ground next to Chuck's dad and observed the man for a moment. He was not moving, and clearly had died in a manner that was both mysterious and remarkably akin to the way in which his mother had recently passed away. Not yet realizing the consequences of his actions, Young Ned reasoned that neither he nor his beloved Chuck would lose a parent today. With a singularity of purpose, he mimicked shaking the man, carefully keeping his hands floating just above him, though he knew from his mother's point of view it seemed as if he were actually touching him. After a few moments, he slipped his finger onto the skin at the man's neck, felt a slight, familiar burst of energy, and Chuck's father began to breathe again.

Charles Charles sat up, chuckling lightly and smiled at Young Ned. "Well, I guess I've had a bit too much sun today, huh, Neddy?"

The boy nodded in silence, then ran back to his own home, wanting to spend more time with his recently alive again mother, who had simply figured Chuck's father had passed out from the sun.

Young Ned did not yet understand that someone else had to die for Charles Charles' life. He was to figure out the connection in the most unfortunate of ways when his father, just home from a month away, pulled into the driveway exactly one minute after Ned had touched Charles Charles back to life. Ned's father put his car into park and promptly died.

This tragedy was not discovered until Ned's mother went out to greet her husband at his car and discovered him slumped on the wheel. Ned was therefore unfortunately not able to use his gift on his father, since the body had been discovered by his mother and the authorities had been called before he knew what was going on.

His mother tried to break the news to him as gently as any mother can tell her son that his father had just died. Unfortunately, this meant reassuring physical contact, which caused her to return to the state her aneurism had put her in less than an hour previously.

*****

At the funeral, Chuck's father moved to put a comforting hand on Young Ned's shoulder, but the boy stepped away, looking up at the man and saying softly but clearly, "Don't."

Chuck's father was unaware of the deadly consequence of him touching Young Ned again, so he figured the boy was grieving and needed his space. The man simply nodded. "I'm real sorry, Ned."

And with those last words, Charles Charles and Young Chuck began walking away from the dual graves, hand in hand. Young Chuck gripped her father's hand extra tight, not knowing how close she was to having her father gone too, but knowing that she was now extra grateful that he wasn't.

Ned now fully understood that he had exchanged Chuck's Father's life for his mother's, and his father's life for Chuck's father's. He had effectively killed his own parents, and knew he would have to live with that knowledge for the rest of his life.

The funeral attendees dispersed, leaving Young Ned standing with the social worker between his parents' graves, as the caskets were lowered slowly into the ground.

The social worker took the boy's hand and began leading him away, when he heard his name being cried out by a very familiar voice. He turned to see Young Chuck running toward him, her hair blowing behind her and a most desperate look on her face.

She came to a halt in front of him. "Ned…" The pleading tone with which she said his name and the look in her eyes said everything. She was sorry, she didn't want him to go, she would always remember him. She loved him.

And in that moment, Young Ned and a girl called Chuck shared their first kiss, before Young Chuck's father called for her, and she had to leave. The social worker's hand on his shoulder told Young Ned that he had to leave as well.

Because Young Ned had no family besides his parents, he was enrolled as a full time, year round student at the Longborough School for Boys, as was dictated by his father in his will. The entirety of his family's estate was to go to him upon graduation. At least, what was left after paying tuition for all of his schooling.

Fortunately for Young Ned, he was a bright boy, and very quickly earned a scholarship both through his diligence in his schoolwork and his unfortunate dual loss.

Young Ned would continue to think of the girl he called Chuck throughout the remainder of his childhood and well into his teen years.

The girl he called Chuck would remember the sweet and quirky boy named Ned, who always had a mischievous twinkle in his eye and always smelt of freshly baked pies and dirt. Even through the numerous trips her father took her on during her remaining childhood and teen years, one thought stuck in her mind. "I wish Ned were here."

The childhood sweethearts would not see each other again for 20 years 13 weeks 4 days 1 hour and 37 minutes.

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A/N: This is my first fic in awhile. Please let me know what you think of the changes and the tone of the story in general, because I'm not sure I have the PD universe quite down yet. Helpful criticism is appreciated!


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